Before You Step Up To The Microphone…
What Every Messenger Of God
Should Know
Kyle Liedtke, Mediatalk Communications

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2

Before we address the practical and technical aspects of communicating through the media, let’s first ground ourselves in the Word of God for how we ought to think as Messengers of God.

My greatest passion as a Media Trainer is to empower you as a Messenger of God with a true understanding of your role, purpose and responsibility as a Messenger. May the following thoughts stir within you and give you a humble reverence for the calling God has on your life as an Artist.

Know Your God

Charlie Peacock told me once, “I’m not trying to build a career, I’m trying to follow Jesus.” Your first responsibility as a Messenger of God is to know your God. This of course sounds obvious, but if you’ve spent any time at all as a professional artist, you know how quickly your life can morph from fire and passion into business and routine. I remember the 80’s CCM Artist Mylon Lefevre confessing utter spiritual emptiness – after a string of acclaimed albums – saying, “I found myself spending all of my time making Him known – yet not spending any time knowing Him.”

God has gifted you to make His name known. You can’t give away something you don’t have. Follow Jesus first – and let Him build your career.

Know Who You Are

“God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us.”
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
“...I know where I came from and where I am going.”
John 8:14

You are a messenger of God, “…as though God were making His appeal through [you].” Ultimately your message is the message of every believer: that Jesus healed your broken heart and that when you had only ashes, Jesus gave you a crown of beauty; when you had only mourning, Jesus gave you the oil of gladness – and when you were naked in despair, Jesus clothed you with a garment of praise (Isaiah 61).

Know your story. Know where you came from and where you are going. Your audience will connect with your honest story, even as the Bible declares - we shall overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).

Know Why You’re There

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.”
Ephesians 5:15

Every interview is a divine encounter for you to communicate the joy, hope and healing of the Gospel to God’s people. God wants to speak through you – and there is someone in your audience that needs to hear God speak through you.

Change your Interview Paradigm. Don’t be a salesman …be a messenger. The reason everyone loved Dorothy in the Land of Oz was because she helped the people around her first. So the next time you’re in front of a microphone don’t just try and sell your CD – give the tin man a heart, the scarecrow a brain and courage to the cowardly lion.

Please hear me…I want you to sell CDs and prosper in your calling – so does God – but the way to greatness in the Kingdom of God is to serve, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” (Mark 10:43).

Come to the microphone to serve. The truth is, if you’re only trying to sell a CD, you might sell one; but if you come to meet the needs of your listeners – you’ll sell all of your CDs. People don’t connect with products they connect with people. “[Speak] only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

Know What You’re Saying

“Above all else guard your heart, for from it flows all the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
"For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."
Luke 6:45
“The power of life and death is in the tongue”
Proverbs 18:21

If someone wants to hear you speak…have something to say. I’ve been in Christian Radio for over 14 years and in that time have interviewed hundreds of Artists - and at least half of them didn’t have anything to say. I don’t mean they didn’t talk during the interview, they just didn’t have much of anything real to say.

Work at your message. People want to hear you. People want to hear the heart behind the art. Now of course some artists would say, “I speak through my music.” If this is the case – and you never speak from stage between songs or talk to people at your product table or never do interviews, then OK I’ll drop the matter. But if you do speak to people outside of your performance, then start putting effort into your message – even as you put effort into all the other areas of your calling – practicing your instrument, writing your songs, learning the business side of things, etc.

Practice your message. Listen to your interviews, watch your television appearances, ask people to critique you and seek out help if you need it. Please hear my heart in this - my purpose is not to try and fashion you into some kind of smiling, plastic-haired television spokesperson. I just want to encourage you to look at interviewing as another part of your music and ministry.

Mean your message. "As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him” (Mark 9:15).
The people didn’t run after Jesus because he was such a great storyteller, they ran after him because he was full of life. When they saw him they were overwhelmed with wonder – not impressed with eloquence. This is why I spend so much time in media training empowering the messenger…I don’t want to just help you craft sound bytes, I want to help you understand and fulfill your destiny as a Messenger of God. And the only way you can fulfill your destiny is to grasp your role as a messenger – one who has been sent with good news.

Passion is more powerful than any well-crafted sound byte.

“We cannot help speaking about
what we have seen and heard.”
Acts 4:20

People want to hear real stories from real people – from the kind of people that burn with passion, that can’t help but speak of what they have seen, heard and experienced. People want life; they want something real – they want to hear someone who has had a real encounter with God.

You’ll find practical help in thinking through and crafting your message in the next chapter. But for now, begin the process of message preparation by thoughtfully considering the things God has been speaking to you about over the past few months – in the Word, through prayer and through people…what has God been trying to communicate to you?

What God is speaking to you is what God wants to speak through you.

“I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me …
through the power of the Spirit.”
Romans 15:18 & 19

Know Who You’re Speaking To

“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.”
“The tongue of the righteous is choice silver.”
“The lips of the righteous nourish many.”
Proverbs 10:11; 20; 21

There is someone in your audience who needs to hear God – let Him speak.

When you’re doing an interview imagine who is listening; think of someone you met during your last concert and speak to that person. Ask God to speak through you and give you words that are “spirit and life” (John 6:63).

Above all, I just want to encourage you to become more and more conscious of who you are, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it – in everything. Don’t let interviewing become a “necessary evil” in your music ministry and career; look at it like another tool God has given you to fulfill your calling, and then be faithful to cultivate it and use it.

Mediatalk…Learn The Language
Empowering & Equipping Messengers Of God
For The Media
www.mediatalk.biz

“Kyle is a man with great insight and expertise. He offers excellent media and ministry training because he can get into the heart of an artist and help them clarify their vision and learn how to communicate their passion clearly. You can't get this kind of one-on-one help from a book or seminar. Kyle's training has been a huge help to my ministry and daily life."
-Jeni Varnadeau